Being the new coach on a staff that has had so much continuity the last five years is not an easy transition to make. When you are the guy that has to replace coaching legends like Dan Brooks and Marion Hobby, it makes it even harder. But new defensive line coach Todd Bates, says the […]
The first time Todd Bates saw Clemson freshman defensive lineman Jordan Williams play in person, Williams was on the basketball court. After joining Clemson’s staff as the new defensive line coach in January, Bates went out on the recruiting trail to watch Williams, who was then a Clemson commitment and standout two-sport athlete at Frank […]
While Clemson has to wait until January before it can hire Lemanski Hall as its 10th on-field coach, the Tigers will have to make do with just one position coach on the defensive line for the first time in the Dabo Swinney era. Todd Bates, who Swinney hired back in January to replace Marion Hobby […]
Life as a recruiter has been a lot different, in a good way, for Todd Bates since he became Clemson’s defensive line coach following the 2016 season. For starters, Bates has many more resources at his disposal than he did when he was an assistant on the FCS level at Jacksonville State from 2014-16 and […]
SUNSET, S.C. — Todd Bates fell in love with Clemson after being brought in by Dabo Swinney to work his annual football camp in recent years. So, when Swinney offered him the opportunity to be Clemson’s defensive line coach following the departures of Dan Brooks and Marion Hobby after the 2016 season, it was an […]
It has been a memorable week for Curtis Fann. Last week, the 2019 defensive end from Emanuel County Institute in Twin City, Ga., was without any offers. Now, he has five offers, including one from Alabama. “It’s been real busy, but real exciting,” Fann said of the past few days. “Last week I had zero […]
There are a lot of reasons Dabo Swinney hired Todd Bates to replace Marion Hobby as Clemson’s new defensive line coach after Hobby left for a coaching gig in the NFL. Swinney got to watch Bates up close as he coached at a few of Swinney’s camps over the years, and he liked what he […]
When defensive tackle coach Dan Brooks and defensive end coach Marion Hobby announced they would be retiring and going to the NFL, questions began to circulate about how one of the best defensive lines would recover going into the 2017 season. Todd Bates answered that question when he was hired shortly thereafter. Bates, who played […]
New Clemson DL coach Todd Bates didn’t know the night of the national championship that he would soon be coaching at Clemson, but you might be surprised about who the former Alabama player was pulling for in the game. Watch coach Bates talk about his transition to Clemson and what it is like coaching for […]
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney always has a plan. Though he was not expecting Dan Brooks to retire and he was surprised to see Marion Hobby leave to become the Jacksonville Jaguars’ new defensive line coach, Swinney was not caught off guard by either. “I think if you are in this position and you get […]